1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to a magazine for housing and guiding fasteners toward a fastener driving tool.
2. Description of Related Art
A fastener driving tool typically has three regions: a back end enclosing a firing mechanism, a front end comprising a muzzle and a magazine, and an intermediate region comprising a tool body. The typical tool includes the tool body and a barrel housed coaxially within the tool body. The barrel contains and guides a piston, driven by the firing mechanism activated by a trigger. A buffer assembly in the barrel stops the flight of the piston. The muzzle, housed within a muzzle housing, extends forward from the tool body and is displaceable from an extended position into a ready-to-fire position when pressed against the receiving substrate.
Fastener driving tools desirably include a contact pressure safety feature assuring that the firing mechanism fires only when the muzzle is pressed against the receiving substrate. When pressed against the receiving substrate, the muzzle displaces into ready-to-fire position and enables the firing mechanism to fire when the trigger is pulled.
In some fastener driving tools, a magazine is attached to the muzzle in order to minimize fastener loading time. Multiple fasteners, often connected in a strip called a fastener strip, loaded into the magazine allow the user to fire multiple fasteners before needing to reload the tool. The magazine contains a follower that biases the fasteners toward the muzzle for driving by the piston into receiving substrate. Fastener strips have a tendency to skew in the direction of the back end of the tool when in the magazine chamber. Skewing of the fastener strip in the magazine chamber may cause the magazine to jam.
A fastener driving tool with a magazine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,747. The tool has a displaceable locking member which keeps the fastener strip properly aligned. The displaceable locking member is mounted on a side of the guide rail supporting the fastener strip and prevents displacement of the fastener strip towards the rear end of the tool. The guide member fits in the space between the collars of the fastener sleeve and keeps the fastener strip straight within the magazine.
One considerable disadvantage to this embodiment is that during fastener loading, the operator must lock the follower spring, pull the displaceable locking member out of the magazine before loading, then push the displaceable locking member back in after loading and then unlock the spring. This is a cumbersome process which increases the loading time.
What is needed is a magazine having an easy to position guide member that ensures the fastener strip is not skewed within the magazine chamber in order to prevent jamming of the tool. The procedure necessary for positioning the guide member should be as minimal as possible to make fastener loading a quick process.
In accordance with the present invention, a magazine designed for use with a fastener driving tool has a longitudinal guide member that prevents a fastener strip from skewing when inside the magazine.
The magazine comprises a slider and a housing defining a chamber, a follower positioned in the chamber, and a longitudinal guide member within the magazine chamber. The slider is slidably engaged to the housing when moving from an open position into a closed position. The slider has a latch with a biased foot that engages the magazine housing to keep the slider in closed position. Upon user depression of the latch, the latch foot disengages from the magazine housing and allows the slider to move along housing from closed position to toward the end of the magazine.
The magazine advances a fastener assembly comprising fasteners joined in a strip by collation sleeves, with each sleeve having a head collar and a tip collar. The longitudinal guide member comprises two fingers extending inwardly from the slider and preventing the fastener assembly from skewing within the chamber when the slider is in the closed position. In one embodiment, the fingers prevent the fastener assembly from skewing within the chamber by blocking the tip collar.
In another aspect of the invention, the magazine has a front and a back and the magazine housing comprises the front of the magazine and the slider comprises the back.